16 April, 2007

I just discovered that a longtime commenter around the Milblogs--Cannoneer #4--has been deployed and has his own blog. His wife blogs with him and in reading his archives, I was reminded of the burdens warfighters' loved ones bear for us. "Cannoneette" describes what happens when her husband's unit gets attacked while they are talking on the phone:

The phone goes dead! God! I’m so scared! What do I do? I prayed, that was the first thing I did. I lit candles, that was the second thing I did. Third I collapsed on a chair and tried very hard to keep the ” bad” things from running rampant in my head, no use there here, is he dead? Is he hurt? God? What do I do if my baby dies?

...This is the 4th time I have gone through this hell! And each time I worry like crazy, then minutes, hours or even weeks later I hear from him. The first time this happened it took almost a week for him to call me back.... After about 30 minutes I calm down and go take a shower to wash all the badness off me. That’s how I cleanse myself of all the bad things I have to deal with from time to time. Each day I light candles and pray for my husband and my sons who are in harms way.

But the amazing part is the parallel she draws--what comforts her when she must repeatedly bear this burden and why she does it willingly.